Bunny Chow on the South African / Gujarati feast menu

The term bunny chow is derived from two words, bunny(Bhanya relating to the bunny chow inventor) and chow(South African slang word for food). Legend has it that it was first served in Durban restaurants, owned by South African Indians known as Bhanyas. In apartheid years many restaurants were not allowed to seat black patrons. Take away food could be sold to anyone but this was well before disposable plates were available.


A restaurateur came up with the perfect solution, placing the curry inside the bread. This bread bowl became known as the bunny chow. Its usually served with a spicy salad. Bunny chows are a strictly messy finger affair, utensils are never used. The concept of bunny chow is not unlike India's own pav bhaji, bread eaten with curry. 


I've been thinking about serving either mutton/bean bunny chow at my supperclub but presentation serves a bit of a mystery. I don't want to place a quarter loaf of bread on a plate. I'm sure there is another way of presenting this great dish or do I stick to basics?

Spicy breakfast

Craving something spicy for breakfast might seem odd but growing up in South Africa,spicy breakfast was common in many Indian homes. My mum would make dishes like spicy spinach cake, grated corn tempered with green chillies,served with thin sev, dholka and many more dishes. When I woke up this morning, and looked out at the grey sky and wet ground I thought of making something that would tantalize the taste buds, something with chillie, lemon and sugar. Making the grated corn dish is a huge task in the morning so I opted for something simple, I've recently learnt to make a south Indian pancake called utthapum. It can be eaten with chutney but this morning I felt like eating it with something sweet so opened a can of corn and tempered it with mustard seeds, green chillies and a touch of salt. The recipe for the utthapum is as follows:


1 cup coarse semolina
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small tomato cubed
finely chopped green chillie (optional and to taste)
1 tablespoon grated coconut (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped corriander (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 tablespoon lime (no need for lime if you using yoghurt from indian shops as I find yoghurt in indian shops very sour)
1/4 cup water (to make the batter thin if its too thick)


Method:
Mix all ingredients together to form a thick batter consistency. Add some water if its needs to be thinned out. Heat a frying pan, spread a small amount on a hot pan, spray some oil on the top or sprinkle a few drops of oil. Cook until the top looks dry and turn over to cook for a few minutes. Serve hot with chutney.

The sun is shining in Edinburgh

Nothing beats the hot sun than a glass of ice cold falooda. Made from rose syrup,ice cream,tukmaria(basil seeds) and crushed almonds, this is a great thirst quencher

I prepared this drink at Aoife's vegetarian feast supperclub, read all about it and other dishes that we prepared here, http://myhomesupperclub.squarespace.com/journal/?currentPage=2

Breakfast

Having harvested a small potatoe bag, I was running out of ideas on what else to make with potatoes. It dawned on me when we were young that my mum use to make potato powa for Sunday breakfast. The dish was spicy,sweet and sour, a perfect combination to get you going on a Sunday morning. And off course no breakfast is complete without a cup of masala tea. 

Another dish I prepared in the week was potato bonda, cubed potatoes,onions,corriander,coconut rolled in a ball, dipped in gram flour batter fried till brown. This usually goes well with tamarind chutney.

A taste of supperclubs

I was lucky to be a guest 'chef' at Aoife's supperclub http://myhomesupperclub.squarespace.com/ and learn how supperclubs work. Before I knew it Aoife got me convinced that I can open one myself. So here goes......look out for dates in early Autumn 2011.....